12th March 2024 “Cambridge Area Railways Yesterday and Today (Part 3)” by David Scudamore
On Tuesday March 12th 2024 we were delighted to welcome back, to a capacity audience, local railway historian and photographer David Scudamore for Part 3 of his “Cambridge Area Railways Yesterday and Today” series.
David opened the evening with views around Cambridge station including Battle of Britain Class 34057 ‘Biggin Hill’ in July 1951 taking over a Kings Lynn to Liverpool Street working, some rare views of the 78-lever Hills Road Signal Box (built 1892 and closed 1926), King George V funeral train from Wolferton to Kings Cross behind Royal Claud 8787 on January 23rd 1936, and newly-introduced LNER V4 2-6-2 No. 3401 ‘Bantam Cock’ on a 450-ton Norwich to Liverpool Street proving run in 1941.
After Cambridge we headed up the Great Eastern Main Line to Audley End, with views of Shelford and Whittlesford, including a 1989 photograph of 37066 in the Ciba-Geigy sidings with a Speedlink working to Tyne Yard. We reviewed the short-lived line from Whittlesford to Six Mile Bottom which opened for traffic in 1848 and closed after only three-and-a-half years, in 1851. K3 No. 61972 was then seen at Great Chesterford on a Liverpool Street working whilst at Audley End one of the German Esslingen railbuses was on a Saffron Walden service.
After Audley End we headed to Bartlow, with a delightful February 1910 view of one of Massey Bromley’s 0-4-4T Class E10 locomotives, No. 097, shunting at Saffron Walden station. An Esslingen railbus was seen again, at Acrow Halt in August 1958, on an Audley End to Bartlow service. The halt was open between 1957 and 1964 to serve the nearby Coronation Works of Acrow Engineering Ltd. Our arrival into Bartlow Junction was met with a J15 shunting at the station, B17 No. 61613 ‘Woodbastwick Hall’ on a Clacton to Cambridge excursion and a Derby Lightweight DMU in the platforms. A quick run back to Cambridge then followed, including ex GER Class E4 No. 62785 on a Cambridge University Railway Club engine-driving special at Linton.
The next part of David’s coverage took us to Hitchin with a magnificent Tommy Tomalin view of D5597 at Shepreth Branch Junction on June 14th 1969 with a Down Cambridge Buffet Express, followed by A4 No. 60017 ‘Silver Fox’ passing Harston with a diverted Kings Cross to Edinburgh working. We visited the Barrington Light Railway, including the brake van special for local school children on September 25th 2015 to celebrate the re-opening of the line, and had a brief introduction to the unusual Coprolite trains that ran between Meldreth and Whaddon. To everyone’s obvious delight David then produced photographs at Royston of a Stirling Single, World War 1 soldiers on the platform and the LNER’s inaugural A4 revenue-earning service behind 60014 ‘Silver Link’ on 14th September 1935. Early 1970’s scenes at Baldock and Letchworth then took us to Hitchin to see a 1937 view of Midland Railway 2-4-0 No. 257 on a Bedford working of clerestory-roofed stock, followed by several locomotives on Hitchin Shed (34D) including the unique LNER W1 4-6-4 No. 60700.
Time prevented us from covering the final section of line in David’s talk, from Cambridge to Sandy, but we did see some of this traffic including a 1935 view of the 24-seater Michelin railcar, a 1939 view of LMS Derby-built three-car streamlined railcar Nos. 80000/1/2 and LNWR Webb 0-6-0 ‘Cauliflower’ No. 8439. David concluded the evening at 9.58 pm with a beautiful July 1953 photograph of Stanier 2-6-4T No. 42591 heading West on a Cambridge to Bletchley parcels train.
The level of audience participation was testimony itself to David’s presentation and all present expressed their thanks and appreciation with a thunderous round of applause to close the evening.